Nightmares
by ElfGirl92
Summary: Because for one Harry James Potter, The Boy Who Lived and premier member of The Golden Trio, things turned out very differently to the history books.


_I do not own Harry Potter, the plot and all the gory little details however, are mine._

_This was inspired by the song Nightmare by Avenged Sevenfold, it is dark and I warn you now there is suicide so if you don't like that sort of thing there is a handy little button on the top left of your browser known as the 'back button' which will take you to safer pastures._

_For those of you brave people who are going to continue, please leave a review for me, good or bad (preferably good but constructive criticism is welcome) and you shall have a chocolate chip cookie for your trouble (or another sweet beverage of your choice if you don't like cookies )_

_Anyway, enjoy!_

Those who hadn't been part of the war with Voldemort believed that now it was over, that the Dark Lord was dead, they were able to live their lives in peace, their children growing up safe.

For many this was true.

But for those few who witnessed the horrors that occurred at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry that fateful night, and indeed the years before when Voldemort was waiting to return and wreak havoc upon the Wizarding World once more, there is a different story, a story that cannot be found in any book written about that period.

Because for one Harry James Potter, The Boy Who Lived and premier member of The Golden Trio, things turned out very differently to the history books.

The first few years after Voldemort's death seemed surreal to most, the staff and students of Hogwarts managed to pick themselves up and resume their studies, but Hogwarts never felt the same again, especially to the older students and even some of the teachers who had been in service for many years had to leave as they no longer felt comfortable teaching in a place they now believed to be tainted.

Harry and his other Seventh Years were able to return and finish their education after three years were spent trying to repair the damage Voldemort had wrought upon the castle, some of it was so extensive that even the most skilled of construction Wizards were unable to repair it in time for the schools reopening and as a result, large parts of Hogwarts were closed off during term time so they could be worked on during the holidays.

It was in these unrepaired parts that it all started, first students reported eerie sounds or the crash of falling masonry, then it all changed, at night students were awakened to the sound of battle, screams of those who had died and the worst of all was the sound of Bellatrix Lestrange's high pitched maniacal laughter echoing through the corridors. It was then that everyone realised that Hogwarts was far deeper scarred than first realised and preparations began to move the school from the castle permanently.

As for Harry Potter, unable to cope with the memories that had been reawakened when he set foot back in Hogwarts, he suffered a mental breakdown half way through his final year and there was nothing even the most experienced Healer could do to bring him back from the dark place his mind had sent him. There was no other option but to give him over to a specialist Wizard mental institution and control his outbursts as best they could in order to give him as normal life as possible, though he would never again be able to live outside on his own.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger fared better, after some initial relapses and Ron leaving for a year to sort his head out, they started to date again and finally married 6 ½ years after graduating from Hogwarts, Ginny Weasley, realising that Harry was no longer 'marriage material' rekindled her relationship with Dean Thomas and went on to have almost as many children as her mother. Meanwhile, Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood eloped together and set about travelling the world documenting rare magical creatures and plants (Luna was finally able to prove that Crumple-horned Snorkacks and Nargles actually do exist). For this small group of survivors, life had given them the smallest slice of humanity back.

But for Harry James Potter the damage was done. No amount of potions and spells could stop his nightmares, each one more vivid than the last; the faces of the people Voldemort killed would swim before his eyes taunting him, blaming him for their deaths.

For 20 long years Harry languished in the institute, he became a mere shadow of what he once was, his friends gradually stopped visiting as they carried on with what lives they had and slowly Harry forgot who they were.

Then finally Harry had had enough; a particularly horrifying nightmare caused the last thread of humanity that was just barely holding Harry together snapped and staff arrived at Harry's room to be confronted with the sight of The Boy Who Lived dead, his highly volatile magic had overwhelmed the security spell placed on the room that alerted the staff if anything happened and Harry in a bath of his own blood, his wrists cut from elbow to wrist. He was only 41 years old.

But no one knows the true fate of Harry Potter. The Ministry for Magic issued a statement saying that they had granted Harry (and an imaginary wife whom Harry could conveniently not have children with) a small area of Unplottable land where he could live out the rest of his life in peace and that under no circumstances should he be disturbed for any reason. Not even Harry's closest friends were allowed to 'visit' him in case they found out the truth about The Boy Who Lived's tragic and untimely death.

So the Wizarding World continues with life, believing that the greatest hero they had ever seen was living quietly somewhere in the world.

Little did they know he had been quietly buried beside his parents in Godric's Hollow under a false name.

But now, he is at peace, his nightmares can never bother him again.


End file.
